Robin Hoods Bay | Morning Walk

You don’t need much time for landscape work. Truly. Sleep is an optional luxury

Golden line, Robin Hoods Bay Pentax 645z FA200mm 1/160 @F11

But oh boy you do need to be lucky. Since I killed my camera maybe the muse had been appeased with my colossal error? During a recent trip to Robin Hoods Bay, I had the most intense but rewarding hour of photography in years. It was unexpected. No planning. It wasn’t eye wateringly early as well. All those things that the “photographers’ hair shirt” rule book says needs to be in place to create. I will confess that the lack of sleep was due more to a screeching cat than a night cap. Possibly.

I bumbled out of the gate. Along a path. Out into the freshness of a May morning. I suppose I must have walked all of about 10 minutes. The first day, somewhere new, is always a bit of a miss. You write it off to warming up. Letting yourself relax. Seeing differently. This moment struck a line through another of those rules. I took my first image at 7.52 and the last at 9.11. I worked my creative muscle off. It was the clouds you see. I blame the storm as well. Oh and the most sumptuous north east dawn light. My eyes were on stalks as I gazed over the sea.

Spotlights, Robin Hoods Bay Pentax 645z FA80-160mm 1/160 @F11

Out to sea, Robin Hoods Bay Pentax 645z FA80-160mm 1/40 @F11

I am in awe of Turner. Prop me in front of “Turner and The Sea” and I start to make strange noises as each page turns. The lightness of touch. Endless ability to evoke mood. Such a discerning eye for colour. When I started, the idea of photographing plain grey sea mist, would have seemed ridiculous. Where is the leading line? Where is the rule of thirds? Where is the subject! More rules casually disposed of.

Standing above Robin Hood’s Bay it felt like I was getting a virtual massage. It was the most intense. The most overwhelming. The most… most! Yet I felt so relaxed. My eyes and mind ebbing, flowing with the clouds and light. I’m drawn time and again to clouds. To the soft ethereal quality. Or, as others put it, “end of the world” drama.

Squall, Robin Hoods Bay Pentax 645z FA45-85mm 1/160 @F11

Golden Sea, Robin Hoods Bay Pentax 645z FA200mm +1.4TC 1/15 @F11

Until, of course, my stomach made its presence known. I reasoned with it. Argued with it. Grudgingly agreed with it. After all the light had become too hard. Too much blue sky. Too much sun. I chuckled to myself and wondered. Did Turner ever have this problem. Packing down his kit. Seduced by the idea of coffee. Dreaming of a cooked breakfast after a hard mornings work. It’s hard to imagine that the sublime Seascape and Storm could have been made without such sustenance. Or maybe I just needed more sleep!

Standing above Robin Hood’s Bay it felt like I was getting a virtual massage. It was the most intense. The most overwhelming. The most… most! Yet I felt so relaxed. My eyes and mind ebbing, flowing with the clouds and light. I’m drawn time and again to clouds. To the soft ethereal quality. Or, as others put it, “end of the world” drama.

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I'm heading back to the north in a few weeks. Can't wait. Last years trip was overwhelming. It has taken a while to get my head around the images. This is the Isle of Skye from Torridon, being battered by an epic storm. #PENTAX#Scotlandpic.twitter.com/eisT…